Rebuttal to Osieczonek's letter

The letter from Perry Osieczonek raised my ire so that I must write a rebuttal. I did not read Don Yoes comments, so I do not know what they said.

I spent the last 8 ½ years of my working career as a welfare worker in Comanche. We worked our cases to give every benefit available to clients. In spite of the regulations, many of the clients would fail to report all income or all jobs.

The goal of the agency was to clear our roles of clients not eligible. Now the goal appears to be to get everybody on the government dole. A checker at the local Walmart told me she had a customer trying to buy dog food with food stamps. When she refused to ring up the item, the customer went back and bought a five pound roll of hamburger and then said her dogs would eat good.

There are so many stories such as this. No one ever promised that life would be without setbacks. It is up to us to do our best to advance ourselves. When I finished Howard Payne in 1956, I went to work for the Federal Government at a rate of $2,870 per year. I had a degree in education and checked the teachers' scales then. They were about $2,865 per year. I also worked approximately 30 hours a week while at HPU.

I had to move to Oklahoma for the job. My pay check was less than $300 per month. My rent was $100 per month. Out of the remainder, I had to provide for a wife and three children for food, clothing, medical care, auto expenses, and miscellaneous. I did part time work with a plumber, keeping the Lobby of the Boys' Club and also delivering prescriptions for a drug store.

When my old Ford played out, I had to get a used car for $200 but had to pay it out. My career advanced, and it got to where I could live on the earning of the job. Altogether, our family included six children. I never had much money for anything except a tithe and living expenses. I would not have asked the government or anyone else to provide care.

If people cannot make it for their family and cannot make it with working a second job, there is no disgrace in children working part time to buy their own clothing or to not have the latest electronic toy.

Not nearly all those people who are drawing money are unemployed. Many are working off the radar. Minimum wages have limited the job opportunities of our youth. While in high school, I worked at a newspaper and at a creamery and on Saturdays, I drove tractors on farms. It didn't hurt me, and I was able to buy all my own clothing.

Our government is trying to be all things to all people. They are taking away initiative of the people.

The current policies need to be modified so that there is a reason for people to work.

The federal budget should by law be set at a non-deficit level with at least one percent of the deficit paid. It will take years at that rate to get the government on an even scale where they do not spend money of our descendents.

It will be painful, but it must be done.

The president should not be allowed to take vacation at Federal (taxpayer) expense no matter what the pretense he uses. He has a cabinet to handle foreign affairs. His job is to supervise that cabinet and to use his experienced staff to do the work (?) of the world.

Bob Hickey

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